The Destruction of the 6th Hokage
by VampireGaaraCheesepuffs
Summary: Konoha has been attacked by Akatsuki, and his friends are risking their lives to protect it. Do they really think they can can stop Naruto from fighting? The Hokage must protect the city after all, no matter what. DISCONTINUED :(
1. In the Cell

**WARNING SPOILERS FOR LATER MANGA CHAPS**

_Thinking sequences in italics _

**Chapter One:**

**In the Cell**

"Kuso...where…am…I?" The blonde Hokage rolled on his side only to feel a stabbing pain in his arm. "Itte."

Naruto looked around at his surroundings. Black. He slowly raised his hand, and noticed he couldn't see it, though he knew that it was there.

_It must be extremely dark in here…_

The 6th moved his hands to the ground. Rock. His hands flew up to the air, moving them blindly back and forth, until the hit a cold sharp wall that was also made of rock. Naruto took a shaky breath, as his hand throbbed from the hard impact.

"Okay, what was the last thing that happened?" He closed his eyes, but nothing came to mind.

"Kuso." He swore again. The blonde sat still for a second longer, before deciding that he should try to get up.

The blonde's arms shook as he pushed himself onto his knees. A sharp jolt of pain went through he arm, and the hand he had hit the wall with. A sharp cry of pain escaped from his mouth, and he instinctively griped his arm. The teen was surprised when he felt clothe wrapped around his arm

_A bandage?_

Suddenly, a memory popped into his head.

_That's right, I was drugged._

Once again, he closed his eyes hopping he'd now be able to remember more of what happened. Everything was blurry, but he remembered fire. Black fire.

**________________________________________________________________________**

**(Earlier in the Hokage's office)**

Black flames bite at the sky. They had easily engulfed the entrance to Konoha, setting it on fire, allowing the enemy into the village. The Hokage stared at them, thoughts raging through his head.

_I've only seen Itachi use those black flames before…but he's dead…who else could've used them? It doesn't matter. The intruders have to be Akatsuki, and I don't have time to sit here thinking._

"Kuso!" Naruto ran out of his office, ready for battle. He'd taken no more than five steps before he was met by Sakura, his old teammate and now head medic of Konoha's hospital since Tsunade's retirement.

"When were we infiltrated, how many are there, how strong are they, and what's our status?" He asked her without stopping.

"Fifteen minutes ago," she tried to block his way, but he easily side-stepped her. "We've seen at least six probably more, all Sannin level." She tried to block him again, but once again went right around her. "All shinobi are fighting, would you STOP!" She screamed.

"Kuso, Sakura! We're in the middle of a battle: I've got to get out there!"

"You know its Akatsuki, don't you?" Naruto kept walking.

"The village can't afford for you to be captured." He didn't stop.

"Naruto, we can't let you fight!"

"I'm the Hokage! Do you think I'm just going to sit back and watch as my comrades risk their lives, when it's me they're here for?!"

"No," Sakura said calmly. "That's why I've got to this." Without hesitation she injected the anesthetic.

________________________________________________________________________

"Kuso." The blonde teen gripped the wall to hold him up, ignoring how sharp and jagged the rocks were. Naruto's breath came out in small gasps, but he didn't dare stop.

_Who knows how long I've been out...I've got to find a way out of here… where ever here is._

"Oi, sleeping beauty's awake."

A shocked Naruto looked toward the voice who had just spoken. About fifty feet to his right was two men watching him, behind bars.

_So, I am in a cell. Heh, and look at my guards._

"Yo." Shikamaru gave a half wave from where he leaned against a wall. Naruto grinned.

"Heh, heh. Nice guards they picked for me." The blonde joked. "I'm guessing you guys are so weak they didn't mind not having you in the fight, huh?"

"Teme!" Kiba said, jumping from the chair he'd just been sitting in, Naruto's words apparently hitting a raw nerve. "I'm way stronger than you! It's a fluke you're Hokage anyway!" Naruto grinned again.

"If you're stronger than me, then why is Shikamaru here too?" Kiba narrowed his eyes and growled menacingly. Akamaru barked from his side. Shikamaru sighed.

"Mendoske, you haven't changed have you?"

"Nope, he's the same idiot he always was." Kiba laughed, and sat back down, sure that he had gotten his come back. He leaned back, so that the chair was resting on one leg.

"Yeah, well there's a reason why they sent you to watch this 'idiot'!" The blonde Hokage scowled back.

Kiba's chair fell back down on all four legs, and Shikamaru glared at the shinobi suspiciously.

"Why do you mean by 'reason'?" Naruto smirked in reply. The 6th began forming hand seals, he's fingers turning blue with small chakra seals on them.

"Crap!"

Naruto began to raise his arm, and then brought it down swiftly toward his stomach.

"Crap," Naruto said as his arm, merely an inch away from his stomach, stopped on its own accord.

"Kagemane-no-Jutsu(1), success." Shikamaru said with a smirk, but he instantly turned serious. "Are you mad Naruto?! What the hell were you thinking, using an unsealing technique to release the Kyuubi, you'd have killed us all!"

Naruto face broke out in a grin, making Shikamaru glare.

"Not bad Shikamaru, much faster than Kiba-"

"Oi, who the hell-"

"BUT," Kiba shut his mouth, and Shikamaru tensed. "Next time you might want to get the real one."

"Goguoukaiin!(2)"

"Shit!"

________________________________________________________________________

1- Shadow Bind Jutsu

2- Five Prong Unsealer

(At least, that's what translations I got XD)

________________________________________________________________________

**That's my first chapter! (edited XD)**

**Please leave reviews!!!**

**Ps- I know this chap is short, but latter ones get longer**

**Next chapter:**

**Chapter Two – ****On the Run**


	2. On the Run

_Italics means thoughts for all those who have forgotten since last chap XD_

**Chapter Two:**

**On the Run  
**

The ground shook, and Shikamaru and Kiba raised their arms to protect their faces instinctively.

A couple seconds passed….Nothing happened. The two looked up with confused expressions and Naruto doubled over with laughter.

"You should have seen your faces! Kiba looked like he was about to wet his pants!"

"TEME! Shut up!" His face turned red, a mixture of embarrassment and anger from that comment. Shikamaru sighed.

"Thank god, we're alive. What the hell did you do Naruto?" Naruto smiled widely.

"Just took off a little extra seal I put on when I became Hokage. I wouldn't have wanted for my power to get outta control would I? I didn't even cause that explosion thing." Naruto continued grinning. "What did you think I was doing?"

"Releasing the Kyuubi of course." Shikamaru said calmly, once again back at his spot leaning on the wall. Naruto frowned.

"Why would I even THINK about doing that here? I'd end up putting the entire village in trouble. I may not be as smart as you Shikamaru, but I'm not as dumb as Kiba."

"Oi, who you calling dumb! I was smarter than you at the Academy!" Both Shikamaru and Naruto ignored him, obviously not caring.

"Besides," Naruto continued with a shrug. "I don't even know where the enemy is…yet."

"Chh," Shikamaru didn't like the sound of that 'yet'. "We're not going to let you out." Naruto's grin grew wider.

"Never expected you to. BESIDES, where's the fun in that?" Kiba and Shikamaru felt the familiar chakra of a rasengan.

"Shi…"

Shikamaru coughed. The dust from the explosion made it nearly impossible to see anything. Nearby he heard someone attempt to get up and stumble, probably Kiba. The pineapple head shielded his eyes and saw a person near the exit.

"You shouldn't fight Naruto, the village will be fine." Another explosion rang, this time not caused by Naruto. Shikamaru noted that Kiba stumble again, but didn't bother to help. Naruto didn't even pause.

"Does that sound like they're fine? I don't think so."

"Naruto, you've barely been appointed Hokage, do you really want to die already?" Naruto stopped. Another explosion went off, this time closer by, and he sighed.

"I'm still the Hokage, and the Hokage protects his village. No matter what." He paused. "Besides, the only reason Akatsuki is here for me, do you think I can sit here and watch everything I care about get destroyed because of that?"

"We'll catch you before you can even start to fight." Naruto laughed.

"Love to see you try." The young blonde Hokage performed some signs and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Crap. Sakura isn't going to be happy with us. How troublesome."

"Acho!" Sakura sneezed.

"You okay Sakura, not sick are you?" Ino asked, looking up from her patient.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Concentrate on the patient not on me."

"You can't tell me what to do forehead girl!"

"Sure I can Ino pig, I'm your superior." Sakura looked out the medical tent window and sighed. She just couldn't shake the bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Naruto heard a scream not too far from his hiding place behind a tree. He gripped the bark of the tree he was hiding behind leaving fingernail marks into it his, trying to force himself not to go help whoever was screaming.

"Gotta come up with a plan first, I have to bid my time." He muttered to himself, but the screams continued. He couldn't help but glance around his tree. Instantly he regretted it, hearing a rustle in the bushes not far away. "Crap." He brought up a kunai just in time, but…

"Naruto-kun… it's only me." Hinata walked out from the shrubs and trees. Naruto sighed in relief, but didn't lower the kunai.

"Oh it's only you Hinata."

"Yeah…aren't you suppose to be…"

"Locked up? I got out for good behavior" Naruto grinned.

"I know that's one of your fake smiles Naruto-kun." Naruto sighed.

"Should've guessed you were serious, you're not stuttering." Hinata walked over cautiously, Naruto still kept his kunai raised. She slowly reached out, and lowered his hand, along with the kunai, to his side.

"Please don't fight Naruto." The Hyuuga's lilac eyes locked on the teen Hokage's cerulean ones. Naruto smiled, but it was laced with sadness.

"I've got to fight Hinata-chan, you understand that, right? I love this village too much to let it, and the villagers get hurt."

"If you loved me you wouldn't go." She looked at the ground, choking on the words as tears began to fall from her eyes. Naruto lifted her head with a pained expression.

"Don't say that, I'm doing this for you too. Even if they lose this battle, do you think they'll just give up? I don't want to hide for my entire life. If I did, I'd never be able to be with you without worrying if they'll use you to get to me." He wrapped his arms around her and held her for a minute, but he broke it off quickly. "I've got to go."

"Promise I'll see you again…alive?"

"Don't worry, I'll win this fight." He kissed her quickly on the lips, the blonde was about to jump off, when he felt something tug at his sleeve.

The 6th turned to the raven haired girl.

"Can you at least stay for a couple more minutes?"

Naruto's face was torn. Another explosion went off in the distance, and his expression turned pained. The blonde looked down at his girlfriend, and saw the tears that ran from her eyes, and smiled slightly.

"Okay, but only for a few minutes."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE GOT AWAY!?!?!?!?!?!?" Sakura and Ino screamed in unison.

"Eh, he released some kind of seal and became at least twice as strong." Shikamaru stated. _I think I just went deaf…Troublesome women…_

"Did you even move that lazy butt of yours to try to stop him?" Ino screamed.

"Not so loud. Of course I did, didn't do much help though."

"Hey can we go now?" Everyone turned to face Kiba who anxiously was waiting for his signal to leave, so he could go join the "fun".

"Sure, go ahead." Sakura sighed, and turned back to Shikamaru. Kiba cried out happily, and hopped onto Akamaru's back while he barked. As soon as he left, she went straight back to her interrogation.

"When did he leave?"

"About an hour ago."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US EARLIER?!?!?"

"Geez, troublesome people. It took us this long to get here you know, it's not like we could just stroll over here."

Sakura just sighed, while Ino was still fuming.

"You're dismissed." Shikamaru nodded, but stopped at the tent's opening.

"We better hurry, he's probably planning on releasing the Kyuubi, at least to some extent." Shikamaru walked out the tent.

"Great, we don't even know where he is!" A medical nurse stuck her head in the tent.

"Excuse me…"

"What?" Sakura and Ino screamed in unison, scaring the medical nurse.

"Sakura-sama, Hyuuga Hinata would like to talk to you. She mentioned it was about the Hokage?" Sakura tensed.

"Okay, maybe we do. Send her in."

**AN-**

**FINALLY FINISHED! Yes, sorry it took so long. I had like writer's block, and I just couldn't force myself to sit down and type this up. But here it is, please Read an' REVIEW! (Note this one was ALSO semi-edited *sweatdrop*)**

**Next Chapter:**

**By the Reaper**


	3. By the Reaper

**EEK! I can't believe I haven't said this yet!!!**

"**I do not own Naruto, if I did it'd be much better" XD direct quote ; P**

**Also: WARNING SPOILERS, if you haven't read the latest manga chaps, you may get some spoilers.**

**Chapter Three:**

**By the Reaper**

**________________________________________________________________________**

Naruto landed on the ground with ease. He'd been hopping from tree to tree, but the trees had started to become scarce. Instead of a forest packed with trees like the whiskered boy was used to, there were only clumps of trees here and there. As of now, he was at the edge of a man made clearing, standing on the trunk of a tree, a clump of trees in front of him, and a clump of trees behind.

_Kuso! Is the battle really this bad? All the trees surrounding the village are completely destroyed. Did we do this to ensure no one ambushed us from the trees, or were they just destroyed in the cross fire?_

Another explosion cut through the blonde's train of thought, bringing him back to his condition. He had gone around the village, instead of directly through it. Not only was the battle concentrated in the center of the village, but if he had gone directly in, he would have surely been spotted then recaptured. As if it wasn't bad enough he had to hide from the enemy, he had to hide from his friends too.

Another scream came from the village. Naruto couldn't stop from cringing. He couldn't STAND hearing the citizens of Konoha in pain, while he STOOD there and did NOTHING. He'd passed several battles on the way, and it was easy to tell Konoha was at a disadvantage. He felt like a coward.

"KUSO! I should be out there helping them! I should be fighting, not hiding."

"You're not doing a very good job of the latter," came a voice from behind.

**________________________________________________________________________**

"Neji too?!?" Sakura yelled exasperatedly as a girl, barely older than the pink-haired medic nin entered the medical tent Sakura was working in, supporting a bleeding Neji. His hair was mixed with blood, turning it a reddish brown, and stuck to the sides of his face. A line of blood started to run from his mouth to his chin and contrasted with his skin, which was paler than normal.

"Hai" was all Ten-Ten could say, her voice so weak it could barely be heard. Though her teammate was worse, she certainly wasn't in top condition. Small wounds covered her arms and legs, and her legs were already buckling under the stress of holding her fallen teammate up. It looked like even if she hadn't been holding him up, she wouldn't be able to stand. There was another explosion, and she toppled to the ground, Neji landing on top of her. Sakura rushed to her side.

"Crap! Ten-Ten are you all right?" Ten-Ten nodded, even though she saw two Sakuras. Neji groaned from below the brunette. Sakura sighed, and began to lift him off. _At least he's not dead._ She put the male down on a nearby cot, one of the few unoccupied. After making sure Ino was looking over him, Sakura turned back to Ten-Ten. "What happened?"

"I don't know. Neji and I were holding our own against the enemy, she could turn herself into paper or something like that, but we were beginning to run low on chakra, so Neji was going to create a distraction while I found backup. Just as I began to leave, Neji screamed at me, but it was too late. I turned around just as Neji jumped in front of me. He easily deflected the attack using Hakkesho Kaiten (1), but then another kunai appeared right after he'd used it, hitting Neji in the stomach. The only reason we're alive is because backup came right then."

Sakura sighed, and rubbed her temples. _Paper? What kind of technique turns a person into paper?_

"Anything else?"

"Hai. She's the only female I've seen wearing an Akatsuki cloak." Sakura nodded again.

"Right, go to the information squad, and tell them what you know about her, and then report back here before you go back into battle, you don't look so great yourself. We can't lose anymore shinobi, so we need to make sure you're at your best before you fight again." Ten-Ten looked down at Neji, worry evident on her face, she looked like she was about to object, but she shook her head and stood up straight.

"Hai!" Without a second thought she pivoted, and began to exit the tent. As she opened the tent flap, Sakura called out to her.

"Oh, and don't worry, your boyfriend will be here when you get back." Ten-Ten flushed and hurried out the tent, making Sakura grin for the first time in hours. Her grin was short lived however, for a soon as her friend left, another ran in.

"Sakura-chan, how is the east medical tent doing?" The now almost 30 year old raven haired medical ninja asked as she hurried into the tent, just as another explosion went off.

"We're doing alright Shizune. Tsunade doing well in the west tent?"

"Hai, demo…" Sakura sighed. _Everything's laced in a but nowadays. _

"Demo?"

"She's using her slugs to provide medical aide out on the field, but the council wants her out of the medical tent, and into the battle." Shizune's face was torn, making Sakura confused. _Is that a bad thing?_

"Didn't Tsunade-sama want to be in the midst of the battle anyway?"

"Yes…but we can't afford to not have her in the medical tent. We're swamped with people, and without her we'd be losing a lot more people than we are now."

Sakura winced. _How can we still be able to lose more people! At this rate, everyone will be dead within a matter of hours, sooner if Tsunade's NOT working. _The young medic Nin groaned.

"What did she reply?" A ghost of a smile graced Shizune's lips.

"'I'd say go to hell, but it seems like we're already there.'" Sakura smiled slightly as well, before another explosion went off.

"There's a lot more explosions than I thought there'd be, how'd they take it?" The raven haired kunoichi's face turned, if at all possible, grim and darker.

"'If that demon you made Hokage doesn't appear soon, you are to be Hokage again, and YOU will have to take the responsibilities the 6th ran from.'" Sakura shook her head sadly.

"Sakura."

Sad green eyes, met onyx stone.

"Do you know where Naruto is?"

**________________________________________________________________________**

**(A few hours earlier)**

"So Hinata, what do you know?"

The shy Hyuuga stared at the ground, pushing her forefingers together. Though she'd become more confident since dating Naruto, and blushed a lot less, she never quite got rid of the habit of pressing her pointer fingers together when nervous.

"Ano…" Hinata's lilac eyes were still concentrated on the ground, and her voice was almost silent.

"Go on Hinata." Sakura was becoming annoyed. She felt like she was trying to get a child to tell on their best friend, but that child was too afraid that their friend would get mad to say anything. "You came here, remember?"

That made Hinata look up. She stood up straight and looked Sakura into the eyes.

"I saw Naruto walking north east about 58 km from the Hokage Monument 13 minutes ago. However, I have a feeling he will take a longer route around Konoha to insure not being captured. At my calculations he should be around the entrance in an hour or so."

"Did he tell you his plan?" Those words seemed to deflate Hinata. Her shoulders slumped, and strands of her dark hair covered her eyes.

"He—he—"

"He what?" They Hyuuga looked up, tears welling in her eyes. Sakura instantly regretted being so harsh.

"He's going to let the Kyuubi take over him after luring Akatsuki away for Konoha. He's going to let himself be captured!" Hinata blurted out, choking on some of her words because she'd begun to sob. The poor konoichi fell to her knees, and Sakura was barely able to catch her before she fell to the ground completely.

"Shhhh, don't worry, we'll stop him Hinata." The raven haired girl clutched the other's shirt, soaking it with her tears. Sakura held onto her, slowly rocking her until her tears slowed down. It was only when her tears were almost completely dry did she mutter into Sakura's shoulder.

"What?" The pink-haired girl asked. Hinata's answer was barely above a whisper.

"He wants us to kill him."

The medic jerked away from the other girl, holding her at arms length as if she'd just found out she had a contagious disease.

"He WHAT?!"

Hinata gave a small sob.

"Af—After he—he does…IT, he wants [hiccup] us to stop—stop him from hurting us or destroying the village."

An explosion went off, disrupting the shocked silence that followed Hinata's words. Sakura couldn't stand it anymore.

"Well too late for that! The village is almost completely destroyed, we're dying by the dozens, and he expects us to just sacrifice him too?! There is no way in HELL I'm letting him go through with this, I—we WILL stop him!"

Hinata stood up slowly, but her eyes stayed on the ground.

"I—I can't." The medic Nin looked at her in confusion.

"Can't what? Can't STOP him? What do you mean?!"

"I PROMISED NARUTO I'D STAY OUT OF HIS WAY!!!"

Sakura looked at her as if she'd just said she'd married a pineapple. Hinata ignored her friend's shocked face and continued.

"I'm the LAST person that wants Naruto-kun de—dead, but he's the Hokage, and we all knew the risks with this title!"

Sakura took a step back; she'd never seen Hinata scream or act like this before.

"And if we DO somehow catch Naruto and defeat Akatsuki, how do you think he's going to react? Do you think he'll be HAPPY?! No! He'd blame all our losses on himself, he already does. Do you think he'd ever forgive us for not letting him fight? Actually, he probably would, but he'd NEVER forgive himself!"

Hinata was panting. Even she was surprised she was getting this worked up. The Hyuuga opened her mouth to say something else, but then closed it. She shook her head and walked out of the tent, leaving a still stunned Sakura in her dust.

**________________________________________________________________________**

_We followed Hinata's instructions, but we didn't find Naruto. Either Naruto took a completely different path than he had been on when he left Naruto, or Hinata lied to us. I really hope it's the first choice._

Sakura shook that thought from her mind, realizing Shizune was still waiting for her answer, and Sakura's hesitation was certainly suspicious.

"No." Sakura answered truthfully.

Shizune stared at the other girl for a few more seconds, trying to find any signs that show she was lying, but found none. She nodded.

"This isn't like Naruto! He'd never run away from a fight like this, what on earth could've happened to him?"

_Maybe his friends who actually care about his life locked him away to protect him, only to lose him a couple hours later._ Sakura shrugged.

"You're right, it isn't like him." Shizune sighed.

"I've got to get back and help Tsunade-sama. You and Ino have everything under control here right?" Sakura nodded. "Alright, we'll check back soon."

With that, the other medical Nin left the tent. She'd just barely left when Ino voiced Sakura's thoughts.

"…Do you think we made the right choice by keeping Naruto out of this?"

Sakura bit her lip before answering her.

"Of course we did!" Her words were just as much for herself, as they were for Ino.

Ino looked at her rival and closest friend. It was easy to see that even Sakura was starting to wonder if drugging Naruto, locking him up, and wasting good shinobis on finding him was for the good of the Village or for themselves.

After all, everyone involved knew what Naruto wanted, and how Naruto's life certainly wasn't equivalent to how many lives being lost without him fighting…but this was Naruto! They'd known him since they were kids in the Academy, when he was still an immature, troublemaking prankster. They'd seen him grow and mature, especially over the last few years. The death of his sensei Jiraiya made a huge impact on the teen. He strived to become stronger, and he did all he could to become Hokage.

He'd been so happy when he told the rookie nine, plus Gai's old team, his accomplishment. They had had a huge party, full of jokes and laughter, and maybe a little too much alcohol. Ino smirked a little.

Sakura caught the other medic smirk, and could guess she was thinking about some of the good times they all had had with Naruto. Those thoughts seemed to erase any regret she had about her choices. Naruto couldn't die so early! After all the bad things that had happened in his life, he deserved a happy ending.

_Shannaro! Naruto we WILL stop you!_

**________________________________________________________________________**

"TEME!!!" Naruto shouted with a mixture of annoyance and surprise.

Sure enough, the one and only Uchiha Sasuke jumped down from a nearby tree and landed nimbly on his feet. However, he didn't step forward from the shadows of the trees.

"It's been years since I've seen you Dobe, and you're still the same."

It was true. The now only surviving Uchiha had vanished from what Naruto knew. After word that he killed his brother spread, what happened to Sasuke was unknown and many assumed he had died as well. The blonde grit his teeth and glared.

"What the hell are you doing here teme?" His tone was hard, but it was lace with a bit of begging. Even after all these years, his promise to Sakura was loud and clear, despite the condition he, and the rest of the village was in. But even if he WANTED Sasuke to come back, just in time to help everyone, it couldn't be a coincidence that he returned NOW. Another explosion went off in the distance.

"Am I not allowed to see my so called friends and village anymore? Or was all that talk about dragging me back bullshit?" The Uchiha's voice was joking, taunting even, though it had a sharp edge to it. His tone made the whiskered teen tense, but once the words registered, he relaxed.

"Of course not! We ARE you friends Sasuke, and you're always welcome in Konoha." The young Hokage smiled slightly, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Besides, we could really use your help."

"We're not here to help." Naruto's head snapped up.

Three more pairs of eyes stared down at him from the trees above, as well as a smile full of shark like teeth. The three jumped down, directly in front of Sasuke, revealing two males and a female. The one with sharp teeth had silver hair, and eyes of a purplish tint, and seemed to be the one who spoke. The other male had orange hair and orangeish eyes. The girl had red hair and reddish eyes. But the most important thing he noticed was that they were wearing Akatsuki cloaks.

The blonde's mouth fell open, and he turned back to Sasuke with questions in his eyes.

"…Sasuke?" His voice was soft and pleading. The Uchiha smirked, and took a step forward, out of the shadows. He too was in a black cloak with red clouds.

_KUSO! How could I not have noticed before!_

Naruto gritted his teeth once again, but this time with more force. His sad cerulean eyes were only on Sasuke's onyx ones. "How long?"

"After I found out the truth about my brother." Naruto looked at him, confusion evident on his face. A heavy silence filled the air. The Uchiha broke it first.

"Leave." His three companions looked at him, but didn't move. "LEAVE!"

"But Sasuke—"The girl tried to speak, but was cut off.

"I can handle this myself, Karin."

"We don't care about you, what the hell are we suppose to do while you waste time with this loser?" The silver haired male looked pissed and bored at the same time.

"Then go fight Suigetsu, I don't care." Suigetsu shrugged.

"Fine, I don't care if you get killed." With that he left, followed by the one with orange hair, and after some hesitation, the girl named Karin.

"Is that your new squad?" Naruto had meant it the words to be harsh, but the words got caught in his throat. The Uchiha's reply was cold.

"They're just pawns."

The blonde snapped.

"WERE WE JUST PAWNS TOO?!? IS EVERYONE JUST A PAWN, OR OBJECTS FOR YOU TO USE?!?! ARE WE NOT HUMAN TO YOU, OR DO YOU JUST NOT CARE?!? DID YOU EVER CARE ABOUT US, DID YOU CARE IF WE WERE ALIVE OR DEAD?!?" The Hokage's breaths were shallow and fast. However the more he stared into his former teammate's eyes, the less angry and sadder he became.

"I told you were my best friend Naruto."

"Yeah, right before you tried to kill me!"

"That doesn't mean I didn't mean it."

The blonde closed his eyes, the words stabbing him in the heart.

"Then why the hell are you with Akatsuki?! They're trying to KILL me, they're DESTROYING the village. You got your stupid revenge, so why haven't you RETURNED!"

The Uchiha sighed. _He's as naïve as ever._

"Things change Naruto."

"WHAT CHANGED?!?!"

"EVERYTHING!" Sasuke boomed, shutting the talkative boy up. "I spent my whole freaking life becoming strong enough to kill my brother, and when it came down to it, I only won by a FAULT." Naruto stared at Sasuke, confused.

"My brother could have killed me if he wanted to, but it turns out he NEVER wanted to kill me! He LOVED ME for kami's sake! He'd been ORDERED to kill my family! But to save this STUPID VILLAGE, HE HAD ME BLAME HIM." The raven haired paused.

"I've spent my life hating the one person I had left in this world because of this village. Now, I will truly avenge my family's assassination, first by killing Konoha's Hokage then by destroying IT." Suddenly a crazed smile graced the Uchiha's face.

"Congratulations by the way for finally becoming Hokage. You always had great timing." With that said, Sasuke unsheathed his sword from his back.

**________________________________________________________________________**

**Eight Trigram Palms Heavenly Spin**

**Domo- But**

**Kuso- Dammit**

**Teme- Bastard**

**Konoichi- Female ninja**

**(if you ever wanna learn a Japanese swear, watch Naruto for about 15 mins, and there you go XD)**

**YAY!!! I know, it's been FOREVER, but I just recently got a review, and that inspired me to keep writing! (SEE!!! REVIEWS MATTER!!!) This was originally gonna only be three chaps, but now it'll be longer! (Mostly cuz my other ending stunk .')**

**I'm sorry if any of my descriptions are wrong. Also if you've been reading the manga chaps, Akatsuki's ALREADY attacking Konoha, but I'm pretending this happens a few years later.**

**Also, I hope this was a bit longer, and I'm sorry if it's not long enough for some people! I'm still getting back into writing ; P**

**I'd like to thank my beta reader: Terrified of Logic (though she still likes Troublesome Girl ; P) THANKS SO MUCH!!!**

**PLEASE REVIEW, IT INSPIRES ME **


	4. So it's Him

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I wished I owned Gaara T-T**

**Ps: There will be some spoilers, but I edited the end of chap 424. That being said: Kakashi randomly will appear XD**

**Also, I used a bit more language then I'd have liked to (*cough, female dog, cough*) but I needed to stay in character and this IS rated T.**

**_Italics are random thought rants which everyone always seems to have _**

**Chapter Four:**

**So it's him**

**________________________________________________________________________**

Night began to fall in the village hidden in the leaves, but no one was resting. The clangs of metal on metal and cries of pain echoed through the city as the light of the falling sun cast an eerie glow, giving Konoha a doomed feeling to it. The source of light for the long fought battle was now at the horizon, a sliver of what it once was. Twilight's coming had brought a mixture of emotions to the battling shinobi.

The younger, less experienced ninja began to rejoice. Their attitudes grew cockier as the night approached, expecting an advantage to arrive with it. Had they been out in the forest, or fighting in an enemy's village, they wouldn't be so at ease. There they'd have been at a disadvantage, but they weren't else where. They were in Konoha, the village they'd been born and raised in, and each shinobi knew the nooks and crannies of the village like the back of their hands. Didn't matter whether it was pitch black, or a bright sunny day, they knew where they could hide, fight, and ambush the enemy.

Wiser shinobi, however, were uneasy. They'd fought for many years, and though the village had been at peace for just about all their lives, many knew that fighting at night wasn't always an advantage. All it took was background information prior to an attack for the enemy to be just as at ease in a village as those who had lived there their whole lives. As it was, the older shinobi could tell from the past 19 hours they've been fighting that the enemy was certainly not ignorant of the village. Even though they'd been told that a majority of the enemy hadn't been to Konoha before, their knowledge of the surroundings was impeccable. As if that wasn't bad enough, the always seemed to have counter attacks for even their most secret tactics. If they let their guard down even a little, who knows how long they'd survive.

Older shinobi weren't the only ones to notice the enemy's knowledge of their tactics. These same thoughts haunted a certain pink-haired medic.

Sakura brushed the sticky strands of hair from her face, and wiped the sweat from her brow. She'd just finished removing some poison from a recent victim. Though she and the late Chiyo had killed Sasori, he had left behind old poison samples, which Akatsuki was now coating their weapons with. The ninja she'd been treating informed her that he'd been hit in a counter attack to tactic Alpha. Her emerald eyes stared vacantly out the tent window, and at the setting sun, as she wondered how Akatsuki could know their tactics so well.

_Itachi was part of Akatsuki. It's not surprising that he informed them of past tactics as well as the layout of the village._

Sakura's attempt to put herself at ease failed.

_But Itachi left about 13 years ago, there was no way he could learn these more recent tactics. There have been reports of counter attacks from only 5 or 6 years ago. The village may not update tactics every year, but new ones a placed every 2 or 3. More so, Konoha was rebuilt after the chuunin exams. Though he visited while construction was being done, he couldn't have gotten the future blue prints or defensive plans that were being put in effect around that time. They have to have had someone else as an informant._

She reluctantly returned to reality and stared at the sun in front of her. Sometimes she liked to sit and watch it set; the way its colors mixed with the colors of night usually calmed her. Today, it just made her more miserable.

"Hello Ugly."

Sakura jumped into a defensive stance, but stopped herself. An angry nerve popped on her forehead, and her words were angry, yet relieved.

"SAI! Kuso! Where the hell have you been! You were supposed to report on Naruto's location almost a half hour ago. Well?"

Sai just smiled one of his fake smiles in reply. Sakura and Naruto had been his friends for years now, but he still hadn't gotten real smiles down yet. A few times he'd smiled for real, but he didn't seem to get how you could do it on cue. Sakura sighed in frustration.

"Did you find the baka or not?!" She yelled anxiously.

"Yes."

Sakura's heart jumped in her chest. She waited for him to continue, but then realized he wasn't going to say anything.

"WELL?!?"

"Well what?" He asked looking at her.

"WHERE IS HE?!? Did you capture him?!"

"No."

Sakura felt like she was going to explode.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO?!?!?"

"No, I did not capture him."

"WHY THE HELL NOT?!?!"

"I felt he should be able to deal with his bonds himself."

Sakura stared at the pale boy confusedly.

"What do you mean?"

"When I arrived, he was fighting Sasuke-kun."

The color drained for the girl's face. Sai studied the reaction carefully, noting it for later examination of bonds. After a few more seconds of racing thoughts, Sakura snapped back to attention.

"And you left him there by HIMSELF?!?"

Sai shrugged.

"Dickless can handle himself."

"But this is Sasuke!"

"Exactly," Sai's voice was cold, and his usually emotion-less eyes were serious. "Naruto needs to fight him himself, he needs to live up to his promise and protect the bonds between them." The boy smiled fakely again. "Though Dickless is acting pretty dickless, he's only dodging, not attacking."

The medic ground her teeth together. Her eyes darted between the tent flap and the injured behind her. After a couple more seconds of silence, she made her decision. She rushed over to Ino, grabbing a pack of kunai and shuriken on the way.

"I'm going after him."

Ino's eyes grew to the size of plates, as Sakura ran around her, grabbing equipment.

"WHAT?! Are you CRAZY?! You can't leave!"

"He's fighting Sasuke!"

Ino hesitated, but then became stern.

"Fine! But I can't take care of all these people by myself!"

"Shizune should be doing her routine check in about 10 minutes, just survive until then."

Ino sighed. She knew that they both knew Sakura's leaving would be bad for the medical tent, but she also knew that Sakura would be too distracted here knowing her old teammates were fighting each other.

"Don't underestimate me forehead girl."

"I don't need to Ino-Pig. I'll be back as soon as I can." Sakura was about to leave when Ino grabbed her arm.

"Don't look for them by yourself. Find someone else to go with you and Sai."

"I can't just pull someone out of battle!"

"You have to realize Sasuke's the enemy now."

Sakura was about to object, but Ino cut her off.

"You have to accept that! If you're pulling someone out of battle to help you with an enemy, it's fine. You're not on a wild goose chase anymore, and you won't be able to defeat him by yourself."

Sakura sighed at the truth in her friend's words.

"Okay, I'll look for someone."

**________________________________________________________________________**

Kakashi was exhausted. After how many hours of fighting, they'd finally defeated one of the Peins.

**[Flash back]**

"Father…" Chouji sobbed, as his father now lay dead before him. "You were protecting me."

"You can cry later Chouji."

The surviving Akimichi looked up shocked. Kakashi stood before him, though he was worse for wear, alright.

"Master Kakashi?!"

"I'm fine, now—"

"But how?!"

The silver haired shinobi sighed.

_Why can't these kids just shut up and listen?_

"Before the attack, I'd stocked up some chakra to make the attack less powerful." The jounin decided not mention he had used just about all of chakra between that and using the sharingan. "Now listen: Go to Tsunade, and tell her about Pein's powers. I'll go to Sakura's medical tent and inform her."

_And get some medical aid, I'm about to fall over._

"H-Hai Kakashi Senpai." Chouji stared down sadly at his fallen father.

Kakashi sighed again, and laid a hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"He was a great man Chouji, but you have to leave him before we get attacked. You don't want his sacrifice to be for nothing. The brunette sobered up, and nodded before running the opposite direction.

Kakashi stood there for a second longer. Slowly he put his head band back into place, and turned.

_Now to find Sakura._

A flash of pink caught his eye, far to his right. He turned and stared at the building.

…… _either I've lost my mind, or the world just likes screwing with me._

Despite knowing that Sakura couldn't have left the medical tent, the jounin went with his instincts and followed the flash of pink hair.

_I'm too old for this._

**________________________________________________________________________**

Sakura felt guilty as she ran through the village secretly. She'd left Ino to take care of everyone by herself, and she'd lied to her. After asking Sai for the coordinates, she'd sent him back into battle.

The Haruno had no intentions of finding back up. Not only would she be taking away an able shinobi, but she'd be wasting time.

_What if I'm already too late? What if one of them is already dead?_

She shook those thoughts from her mind.

"No! They're not dead." She whispered out loud. It was then she heard someone following her.

Sakura stopped, and whipped out a kunai from her pouch. She was right outside the village now, the entrance gate stood open behind her, and the forest lay in front. There was another rustle, but this time from the trees. Her head looked from the trees to the gate, her heart pounding hard. She felt a tap on her shoulder and she swiveled around ready to kill.

Her old sensei stood there, hand raised in greeting.

"Yo."

Sakura sighed. "Kakashi-sensei! What are you doing here?!"

"I could ask you the same question, and I will. 'What are you doing here' and why are you not back at the medical tent?"

Sakura hesitated. Kakashi HAD been team 7's sensei, and was as close to Naruto and Sasuke as she was. By all means, he had just as much right to know that they were fighting as they speak. Nevertheless, she didn't want to drag him away from battle. Still…

"Sasuke's here."

Kakashi's one black eye narrowed, as he motioned for her to continue.

"He and Naruto are fighting about 13 km ahead of us. Now, what are YOU doing here?"

"I saw a flash of pink hair just as I was going to head over to see you for some medical treatment."

"Oh! Are you hurt?! What do you need?"

The male shook his head to calm her worry.

"I don't have many major injuries, but I'm low on Chakra, and am especially in need of some chakra pills." Sakura nodded, and began to dig in her pouch for said pills when Kakashi sensed someone's presence.

"Why the hell are you looking for my Sasuke-kun?"

The two's heads snapped in the direction of the voice in unison. A red head with reddish eyes stepped from the trees. She stood akimbo, dressed in a black cloak with red clouds, obviously one of the enemies.

"YOUR Sasuke?!" Sakura snapped. The other girl looked her up and down.

"Yeah, and who are you bitch?" The girl said coolly with a toss of her head.

Kakashi grabbed Sakura's arm to stop her from killing the other girl.

"I'M HIS TEAMMATE!"

The red head smirked. "Oh, so you were that slut who used to follow Sasuke around like a love sick puppy." Sakura's forest green eyes were ablaze, but the girl continued as if she didn't notice. "Well, sorry to inform you, but he's MINE now."

"Sakura, stay calm." Kakashi said raising a hand in a weak attempt to stop the rising tension.

"TO HELL WITH STAYING CALM! This bitch is going down!"

"Bring it on slut."

Sakura pulled her arm out of Kakashi's grip and tossed him the bag of chakra pills she'd been holding.

"Find Naruto and Sasuke, and break them up. I'll deal with this whore."

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!"

Kakashi nodded, knowing better than get between two pissed girls.

"Be careful," was all Kakashi said before running away.

"Don't worry; it won't take much to squash this bitch."

**I may love swearing, but I NEVER call girls those names (though I do call them female dogs XD) Also, I LOVE the word Akimbo! About the only good thing I learned from ****To Kill A Mocking Bird**

**Also: you may be angry at me for not having Sasuke and Naruto in this chapter, but HAVE NO FEAR, they'll be in the next chap!**

**This chap is shorter, but that's cuz I have a lot of work to do today. And I've been writing a lot of other stuff (15 finished poems, a story/rant, a one shot, a short story and a bunch of poems that still need to be edited : ( I'm averaging about two poems a day .)**

**Also, sorry if this is out a little late, had to get it all beta'd and all XD (Which is all thanks to Terrified by Logic) and also:**

**I SAW TWILIGHT *SQUEEL* Better than I thought it was going to be, and I got to see it with my friends. Me and my other friend screamed when Taylor's name came up on the credits. It was SOOOOOOO funny! (Note- Taylor plays Jacob, but we're Edward fans XD Taylor's just to hot to not love him! Though I can't wait til he get rid of the wig! *gag*)**


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